Five Huskers Earn Academic All-Big 12 Honors

Lincoln - A league-leading five Nebraska women's golfers claimed spots on the academic All-Big 12 teams announced by the conference office in Irving, Texas, on Tuesday afternoon.

Four Huskers, including seniors Andrea Carlson (Grand Island, Neb.), Chrissie McArdle (Eden Prairie, Minn.), junior Allison Stewart (Vermillion, S.D.) and sophomore Megan Place (Omaha, Neb.), earned first-team academic All-Big 12 honors, while junior Elli Brown (Meridian, Idaho) added a second-team award.

McArdle, Nebraska's most experienced golfer, captured first-team academic All-Big 12 honors for the second straight season as a finance major. She is also a five-time member of the Big 12 Commissioner's Academic Honor Roll.

Stewart, a business administration major, also claimed her second first-team academic All-Big 12 award, joining the honor she earned as a redshirt freshman in 2005. Stewart is also a six-time member of the Big 12 Commissioner's Honor Roll.

Carlson, a seven-time Big 12 Commissioner's Honor Roll selection, claimed her first academic All-Big 12 award. Place is also a first-time academic all-conference pick after earning five spots on the Big 12 Commissioner's Honor Roll.

Brown added the second academic All-Big 12 award of her career, after earning first-team accolades as a sophomore in 2006.

Nominated by each institution's director of student-athlete support services and the media relations offices, the academic all-league women's golf teams included 34 first-team selections and six second-team honorees in 2007. First-team members must maintain a 3.20 or better GPA, and the second-team selections must carry a 3.00 to 3.19 GPA.

To qualify, student-athletes must maintain a 3.00 GPA or higher either cumulative or the two previous semesters and must have participated in 60 percent of her team's scheduled events. Freshmen and transfers are not eligible in the their first year of academic residency. Senior student-athletes who have participated for a minimum of two years and meet all the criteria except percent of participation are also eligible.

Nebraska will travel to the Big 12 Women's Golf Championships at the Ridgewood Country Club in Waco, Texas, April 16-18.